


Something to Love

by Tayani



Category: Persona 5
Genre: Akechi Goro is Happy, Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Fluff, M/M, Tooth-Rotting Fluff, as befitting a Happy Goro Zine piece :), fix it of sorts?, happy goro zine
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-12-31
Updated: 2019-12-31
Packaged: 2021-02-25 08:34:53
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,621
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22052989
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Tayani/pseuds/Tayani
Summary: Akechi Goro wakes up in his apartment one day and wonders about his life.
Relationships: Akechi Goro/Amamiya Ren, Akechi Goro/Kurusu Akira, Akechi Goro/Persona 5 Protagonist
Comments: 8
Kudos: 168





	Something to Love

The rain fell, little droplets steadily pitter-pattering against the window panes.

It was already quite late, but on a Sunday like this – cloudy and grey, with the rain greeting you good morning – no one could be bothered to get out of bed too early.

Akechi Goro stretched on the bed in his small apartment, smiling as he felt his muscles flex the sleepiness away. He felt warm and comfortable, the blanket soft against his skin. His eyes opened, and he lazily took in his surroundings.

There was a desk right under the window. Usually so clinically neat and tidy, it was now strewn over with papers and random documents he was perusing the night before. One would think, this being the desk of the famous Detective Prince, any stray documents might be case files, or at least the homework from his prestigious high school – but no. Upon closer examination, one would find quite an array of strange, complicated diagrams there. Something that looked like a map to some very twisted version of… perhaps a casino, and another one of a luxurious ship, with many annotations and with parts circled in various colours. There was a notebook, too, and a calendar open on a certain date marked in red ink. There were still a few days left until the marked one, though, and on this particular Sunday the meticulous notes in the planner turned an easy shade of blue and spelt a “free day”.

Another colour – another hand, clearly – drew a little picture of a white-and-black mask under today’s date. From the bed, Goro couldn’t exactly see it, but he knew it was there, and that thought alone made his smile brighten.

There were books on a small shelf over his desk. It was a curious collection – ranging from thick volumes on philosophy, detective stories and romance novels hidden in between, to a few volumes of colourful manga. On these, a figurine stood proudly – one of Feathermen Red, posing dramatically out of his box. Someone – a certain red-headed gremlin, Goro suspected – kept putting a miniature calling card into the figurine’s hand every time she visited. At some point, Goro stopped taking it away and just left it be. Here it was now, the Phantom Thieves’ logo just barely visible on the tiny red-and-black paper rectangle. That made him smile, too.

On the very far end of his desk, there was a small, round aquarium. It didn’t have a lot inside of it. Some elegant, white stones made up the floor, and there was a ball of moss laying on it. Around it, gathered carefully in a tasteful decoration, were tiny ceramic Totoro figurines. There was also a sign, on the cork lid of the aquarium. It read  _ ‘Toucan’ _ .

Goro could still remember the time he received this particular gift. It was a few weeks after his birthday. On a Sunday morning quite like this one, he was inspecting the meagre contents of his fridge when he heard his doorbell ring. No one was there when he opened it the moment later, but a package was waiting for him outside the door, with a note asking him to be extremely careful while handling it.

It contained the aquarium with little Toucan inside, and a note, which read:

_ Dear Detective Akechi, _ _   
_ _ nice to meet you! You’ve caught me! I am the newest member of the Phantom Thieves, currently placed under your custody. I don’t have a name yet, so feel free to name me! Oh, but it can’t be the name of a famous philosopher. No showing off. _ _   
_ _ I am, as you can see, a marimo! I will from now on live at your apartment and welcome you every time you come back home :3 _ _   
_ _ Thank you for taking me in! _

Underneath the printed words, there was another note, this one written by hand.

_ I hope you like it. _ _   
_ _ Akira _

Looking at the small aquarium now, Goro felt his whole expression soften. He sat up on the bed, hugging a pillow to his chest as he looked at the small ball of moss. At first, granted, he had no idea what to do with his tiny housemate. He spent that whole Sunday researching marimos and what one was supposed to do with them, peering up at the aquarium every once in a while and fighting a persistent grin from spreading all over his face. He had named the little ball of moss Toucan, after Featherman Green, and endured a whole lot of teasing for this name. It was the first gift Goro received in his life that had absolutely no strings attached to it. It was also the very first living thing he had ever been responsible for in this way. Changing Toucan’s water, cleaning his aquarium and decorating it with little ceramic figurines Goro was now actively hunting for all over Shibuya was… amazing. A completely new experience. And it also involved him calling Akira at strange hours of the morning, panicking about Toucan rising up in the water or starting to flatten or turn brown. And, well, Akira seemed all too keen on laughing and coming over to help and calm Goro down. From time to time, he’d stay over for breakfast, or walk Goro down to the station. In time, these visits became much more frequent, even after Goro became perfectly capable of taking care of Toucan on his own. One day, after a morning they spent together talking and laughing over breakfast and a shared thermos of Leblanc’s coffee, Akira leaned over Goro’s table and kissed him, and…

Goro fell back onto his bed, grinning as he covered his face in his hands. Life has never been the same again, was it? Just a little something to take care of; to  _ love _ , and it made all the difference. He couldn’t even fully understand just how did he go through his life so alone. Now, he had friends; a whole group of Phantom Thieves to belong to. He had a goal he could share with them; he had his once so empty apartment littered with little knick-knacks and gifts from all the people who cared about him. And, well… he also had…

The door to Goro’s bedroom opened slowly. Akira walked in with caution, balancing a tray with breakfast on one hand. He was wearing Goro’s old Feathermen Black T-shirt, showing off a visible lovebite on the side of his neck. His hair was still tousled from sleep and he grinned when he saw Goro watching him, setting the tray on the desk. 

“You’ll get all the papers dirty,” Goro said, scrunching up his nose when he saw that. Akira laughed, climbing onto the bed.

“Is that any way to greet your boyfriend, honey?” Akira purred and for just a moment, Goro forgot how to breathe. Akira’s smile softened and he leaned down, catching Goro’s lips with his own, and just like after that first kiss, Goro felt as if his whole life shifted around this one thing. He sighed happily, wrapping his arms around Akira and pulling him close.

“...what is it?” Akira whispered once they moved apart, brushing Goro’s hair away from his face. The brunet opened his eyes and smiled, dipping his fingers in Akira’s soft locks. 

“Nothing,” he smiled, brushing their noses against one another in a sweet, affectionate gesture. Akira smiled down at him, with all the affection in the world, and Goro felt his heart squeeze in his chest in the best of ways. 

“Huh,” Akira smirked, his eyes narrowing playfully as he looked down at his boyfriend. Goro was about to ask what he was scheming; the next moment, he found out. Akira’s hand moved up, brushing over his sides, and then his boyfriend leaned down, peppering his neck with kisses - very soft, very  _ ticklish  _ kisses. Goro gasped and flailed, but the only thing he achieved was Akira’s hand slipping under his own T-shirt, tickling his stomach and sides mercilessly as Goro squirmed and let out bursts of helpless laughter.

“N-no! Akira, no, no, stop, it tickles, it tickles!” 

They rolled on the bed, both of them laughing now, wrestling and trying to tickle one another - with limited success on Goro’s part. Once Akira finally granted him some mercy and let go, the poor brunet had tears in the corners of his eyes and was gasping for breath from laughing too hard.

“You  _ jerk _ …” Goro grumbled, though the effect was somewhat diminished by a grin he said it with. Akira smiled down at him fondly and leaned in for another kiss, deep and loving this time.

“I love you,” he whispered against Goro’s lips and, all of a sudden, Goro felt like his heart would leap out of his chest. “And I love you laughing even more. Now… tell me what were you thinking about before?”

It was a very gentle question and Goro felt himself melt into Akira’s affection. He smiled and wrapped his arms around his boyfriend again, pulling him close.

“I wasn’t really thinking about anything in particular,” he said, eyes half-lidded and content. “Just… how happy you make me.”

“...oh.” Akira flushed, staring down at Goro with his silver eyes wide open. And then he smiled, and it was the prettiest smile Goro had ever seen. Akira cleared his throat and moved away, sitting beside Goro and carefully transferring the breakfast tray onto their laps. He was still blushing and still smiling, his elegant fingers playing with the napkin the sandwiches he prepared laid on.

“...you do, too,” he said, after a moment’s silence. Goro felt a kiss pressed against his forehead, and Akira’s arm sneaking around him, pulling him closer. 

“You’re the best thing that happened to me, Goro.”

**Author's Note:**

> If you like my stories and would like updates on my writing process/life/current obsessions, you can find me on twitter [@mikan_writings](https://twitter.com/mikan_writings)!


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